


Righting Past Wrongs

by a1_kitkat



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Bullying, Denial, Friendship, Hazing, High School, Kylex, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 20:59:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18038936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a1_kitkat/pseuds/a1_kitkat
Summary: After his treatment of Alex at Prom, Liz breaks up with Kyle.His friends blame Alex for Kyle being dumped and decide to get their own payback.





	Righting Past Wrongs

**Author's Note:**

> Open to interpretation if you want to see it as pre-Malex or pre-Kylex or just Kylex friendship

It was too early for him to be at school yet but Alex didn’t want to be at home any longer than necessary so he grabbed his bag and was out the front door before his father was even out of the bathroom. He walked as slowly as possible, dragging his feet the entire time but still wasn’t long enough and he just couldn’t turn up at school earlier than any of the teachers; that would just be sad. So Alex made his way into town instead and past the Crashdown Cafe yet didn’t have it in him to go inside.  
But he was equally as surprised to find someone else lurking about outside so he moved closer, thinking he might confront them, accuse them of loitering or maybe stalking but stopped when he realized it was Max Evans. Alex held back a smile; Max really had it bad for Liz and the only person in town who was completely unaware of his feelings was Liz herself.

“Evans” Alex greeted him with a knowing grin.  
“Alex” Max didn’t look startled or guilty “you’re up early”  
“So are you”  
“I uh I just wanted to check on Liz”  
“Oh?”  
“Well uh you know, after the whole thing at prom on Friday night” Alex shifted uncomfortably. He remembered prom all too well “her and Kyle broke up” Max informed him.  
“Can’t exactly say I’m heartbroken over that” Alex said.

They both peered in the window and saw Liz sitting at the counter with her sister.  
“How are you holding up?” Max asked him, genuinely concerned.  
“Kyle’s an ass” Alex replied as matter of factly as possible.  
“What uh what exactly did he say to you, to make you storm out like that?”  
Alex shifted uncomfortably under Max’s concerned gaze.  
“I’d rather not say” he said, not looking at him “just typical childish jock mentality I guess”  
“You threw a punch at him, whatever he said-”  
“It doesn’t matter now” he tried to shrug it off.  
“I’m sorry that whatever he said ruined your night”  
“Wasn’t a total write-off” Alex paused “there are still some decent people in this town, willing to step in and help”  
His words lingered in the air between them. Max nodded his head in agreement. No doubt both remembering how quickly Michael had come running to his aid.  
“I… I have to get to the library before class” Alex lied, suddenly eager to get far away from this conversation “I’ll see you at school, Evans”  
“Yeah, bye Alex”

Alex shouldered his bag and started off in the direction of the school, leaving Max outside the Crashdown to continue his pining over Liz. His own mind now filled with memories of Prom; why did Max have to bring all that up anyway? Kyle’s attitude hadn’t exactly ruined his night; it wasn’t like he’d been having that great a time, watching all the happy, straight couples together on the dancefloor. He’d been hiding in a corner, watching everyone else have a good time and wondering if he’d ever get to experience something like that for himself.  
In his mind, his arms had been wrapped around a tall, handsome man as they swayed together to the music; a fantasy that had been broken by Kyle’s harsh words and his jock friends taunting laughter. The only good thing to have come from the entire thing was that he’d stood up for himself with Kyle, gotten in a decent punch, and had a brief moment with Michael Guerin.

He hadn’t seen or spoken to Guerin since he’d told him about the tool shed but he knew his classmate had started staying there as he would often sneak down there at night and keep an eye out for the faint glow of the lamp. It had meant giving up his safe space but Guerin had definitely needed it more than he did right now.  
Alex knew he’d never forget the way Guerin had looked at him on Friday night, with such concern in his eyes. It wasn’t something he was used to seeing from people when they looked at him. Even the way Guerin had asked if he was okay had meant something to him. Looking back, he wished he’d at least thanked him for his concern… but he tried not to dwell on it. Guerin obviously felt that he owed Alex for letting him crash in his tool shed.

Alex turned the corner and was almost within sight of the school when he heard a car horn. He tried to ignore it but the sound just grew louder, lasted longer as it got closer to him. He turned to see what was making all the noise and sighed when he recognized the car and all of Kyle’s jock friends. It pulled up beside him and two of his classmates jumped out with smug expressions on their faces.  
They each grabbed one of Alex’s arms and started to pull him towards the still running car. His instinct was to fight back but he was outnumbered and before he could react, he quickly found himself squashed between the two jocks in the backseat of the car as it started speeding away from the school.

When Alex made to move, the one on his left, Jason, shoved something in his mouth to stop him from saying anything while the jock on the right, Logan, tied his wrists together. If this was some kind of hazing, Alex knew he wasn’t going to get off lightly. He struggled as best he could but decided it was smarter to save his energy for when the car finally stopped, hopeful he’d be able to get away from them.  
They drove for some time until Alex wasn’t entirely sure where they were but when they reached their destination, he was shoved from the backseat and landed with a thud on the grass.

The group of jocks crowded around him and Alex suddenly realized that Kyle wasn’t with them. It was strange to not see him being the usual ringleader but it was also a bit unnerving. They each stepped forward and took a turn at hitting or kicking him. He had no idea why they were doing what they were doing but he held his head up high and swore he wouldn’t show any weakness.  
They pointed, laughed and jeered at him while he tried not to roll his eyes. All jocks were the same, their stupid pack mentality.

“You know Liz dropped Kyle, Manes?”  
Alex shrugged his shoulders.  
“Because of you and your hissy fit at Prom”  
Alex narrowed his eyes in anger; standing up to a bully wasn’t a ‘hissy fit’.

They grabbed at him again and started down a path, each took every opportunity to call him every slur they could think of until they headed off the main track and down into dense trees. Alex saw the glint of the knife and his fight or flight mentality kicked in. He elbowed the jock closest him and started to run but Logan caught up to him and tackled him to the ground. Once down, he kicked Alex twice in the stomach.  
His heart was pounding as he began to fear what they were going to do to him. There was four of them and only one of him. The knife came closer again and he wondered if they were going to untie him, give him a fighting chance to defend himself but no, the blade was used to cut his shirt away so he was naked from the waist up. It then took three of them to drag him over to a large tree; they cut the binding on his wrists long enough to pull his arms around the tree and retie them. Alex swallowed back his fear.

He looked at the four kids he’d known since elementary school and couldn’t understand what he’d done to any of them to make them do this to him. One was rummaging in his bag, pouring the contents out in the dirt. Alex watched as Jerry pick up his black eyeliner then he approached. Once he was close enough, Alex kicked him and was immediately backhanded by another of the jock pack.  
They were all laughing at him now and congratulating each other on their actions. The one holding Alex’s eyeliner pen, Jerry, moved forward again then he used it to write three letters upon his naked chest. Alex closed his eyes to stop himself from tearing up in front of them. He refused to let them see his tears. 

With their laughter still taunting him, Alex felt hands tugging at his belt and opened his eyes. They were trying to get his pants off. To what end, he wasn’t sure. He wasn’t going to make it easy for them though and immediately started kicking at them but he was tied up and there were still four of them. It wasn’t long before they had stripped him down to his underwear.

“Fag” one of them spat in his face.  
“We’ll come back for you later… Maybe”

And just like that, they disappeared back the way they came, leaving Alex tied to a tree in his underwear with the word ‘Fag’ printed upon his chest. Once he was certain they were gone, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to cry.

*

Kyle was pissed that none of his friends were waiting for him when he got to school. They all knew Liz had broken up with him because of Alex Manes and the whole Prom thing but for none of them to be there for him, well that was just uncalled for.  
It was stranger still when Michael Guerin came up to him and made a snide comment about him not only being girlfriendless but also friendless. He didn’t appreciate that comment and had been prepared to knock the smirk right off his smug face just as the bell rang.

His friends showed up late which set off alarm bells in his mind. Where had they been and why hadn’t he been invited? Did they not respect him anymore because he’d been dumped? No, that wasn’t right. So what had they been up to? It didn’t help that throughout the morning, they kept giggling to each other, like giddy girls, it was annoying.

During lunch, Kyle couldn’t stand it any longer and he confronted them. Jerry was the first to cave and he quickly led Kyle from the cafeteria with a wide grin on his face. They made it all the way to the empty locker room, where they wouldn’t be overheard.

“We took care of Manes for you” Jerry replied with a smug smile.  
“What do you mean ‘took care of him’?” Kyle felt his stomach lurch.  
“We grabbed him this morning, to teach him a lesson”  
“But… Why?”  
“Liz dumped you because of him”  
“What did you do?”  
“After school, we’ll take you and we’ll show you”  
“No, you’ll tell me now”  
“It’s just better if you see it… more effective”  
“What did you do?” Kyle grabbed a fistful of Jerry’s jacket, anger rising inside him “we’re going, now!”

Jerry pulled free of Kyle’s grasp and shrugged his shoulders.  
“Fine, if you don’t want to wait for the payoff” he replied “let’s go”

They rounded up the others and piled into Jason’s car. Kyle in the passenger seat; asking question after question but only getting laughter for an answer. It unsettled him. Jason pulled off the main road towards Chattahoochee River and Kyle immediately started to fear the worst.  
The car came to a stop and Jerry jumped out to lead the way. Kyle’s heart was pounding so hard that he could hear it. It was only a short walk before they found the spot and Kyle stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what they’d done. If Manes reported this to the school, they could all get expelled. If he told Alex’s dad, they could get arrested.

Alex was tied to a tree with a gag in his mouth and had been stripped right down to his underwear. Kyle could just make out the word ‘fag’ written on his chest. His friends were laughing but their laughter made him feel sick to his stomach. Kyle swallowed nervously as he looked at Alex and Alex stared right back at him.  
A few short years ago, they’d been almost as close as brothers and now they were practically strangers but no one deserved to be treated like this. 

“Did you bring it?” Kyle heard Jerry asked Jason.  
“Yup”

A moment later, Jason had produced a disposable camera and started taking pictures, all the while laughing almost hysterically. They were all so proud of what they’d done; Alex was still looking at Kyle who was hoping he would realize that Kyle had had nothing to do with this.

Jason moved closer and snapped a close up of the word written on Alex’s chest.  
“This’ll look great in the yearbook” he sneered.  
“Don’t forget the money shot” Jerry shouted.  
“Oh right”

Then Jason was reaching for Alex’s underwear, clearly intending to take a nude shot, no doubt to send around the school in a bid to humiliate Alex even further. What would Jesse Manes do if he ever found a naked photo of his son doing the rounds of the school? Kyle wasn’t sure who he’d punish more, Alex or the kid who took and distributed said photo.

“Stop!” Kyle grabbed the camera from Jason who looked shocked.  
“Are you an idiot, Jas?” he asked him “you can’t do this”  
“Says who?”  
“If word gets around that we did this, we’ll get expelled”  
“Big deal”  
“You might not give a crap but I do… I’m going to college, medical school; I can’t have this on my record”  
“Well, you haven’t done anything yet… We did this for you, Valenti”  
“I didn’t ask you to” he snapped.  
“It’s what friends do”  
“No, you beat a kid up or let the air out of his tyres… You don’t tie him up and take naked photos”

“Guys, we gotta go” Milton called out “we can’t be late back to school, not after being late this morning”  
“Come on” Jerry started to run back towards the car but Kyle and Jason were still glaring at each other.  
“Come on” Milton echoed “let’s go”

Kyle kept the camera and made certain not to look at Alex as he turned and followed his friends back to the car.

*

Alex was losing all feeling in his hands, his fingers were practically numb. It wasn’t exactly cold out here but he was barely dressed. It was humiliating to be tied practically naked to a tree in the middle of nowhere. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved that no one had happened upon him yet but he was also grateful to Kyle for stopping his stupid jock friends from totally stripping him. That would be even harder to explain.

After Kyle left with his friends, Alex couldn’t shake the look of shock he’d seen on the other boy’s face. It was like Kyle had been surprised to see him like this. His jock friends had told him they’d done it for him and he had said that he hadn’t asked them to… Perhaps he’d been telling the truth yet he’d still chosen to leave him here… Had left with his friends and left Alex still tied to the tree, alone and almost naked.

His one hope right now was that one of them would come back for him after school. The last thing he wanted was to be left here all afternoon or worse, all night but it felt like no time at all passed before he heard a single set of footsteps. He closed his eyes and lowered his head; this was going to be embarrassing!

“Manes?” Kyle’s voice reached him before the man himself did.  
When Kyle appeared, Alex wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or not. He raised his head but his eyes followed every movement Kyle made. The first thing he did was remove the gag from Alex’s mouth before moving around behind the tree to untie his hands.

Kyle was surprisingly gentle with him. Neither of them spoke while Kyle untied him, brought his hands around and held each in his own then he stared to massage them, as though he knew Alex would have little to no feeling in them. Alex looked up at Kyle’s face but Kyle was staring at the word written on Alex’s chest.

“Jerry did that” Alex said, breaking the silence. Kyle nodded his head but didn’t say anything.  
Alex was trembling but he wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or shock or both. He watched as Kyle noticed him then removed his lettermen jacket and draped it around Alex’s shoulders.  
“Thank you” Alex whispered. It sounded weird, thanking Kyle, given what Kyle’s friends had just done to him.

“I swear I didn’t know, Manes” Kyle said to him “I would have told them not to”  
“And they still would’ve done it anyway” Alex replied.  
“Alex-”  
“Jock pack mentality… they can’t help themselves”  
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry they did this to you”  
“You left me here too”  
“I had to…”  
“No, you didn’t have to… You could have asked them to untie me”  
“We were in Jerry’s car so I had to go back to school with them and get my car… But I swear, I came straight back here”  
“I believe you”

Alex did believe him. It was such an odd feeling. He and Kyle hadn’t talked like this in a long time; they hadn’t been friends in a long time.  
“Did they hurt you or…?” Kyle asked. He was still caressing Alex’s hand which had pins and needles shooting through it.  
“Not really” Alex tried to shrug it off “it was more of a power play thing”

Kyle looked around and saw Alex’s bag, his belongings strewn along the ground so he started to collect them. As soon as he stepped away, Alex pulled his jeans on and looked around for his shoes. When he sat down on the ground to put them back on, Kyle sank down beside him and simply looked at him.

“I really am sorry they did this to you” he whispered.  
“And I really do believe you” Alex replied.

Alex watched as Kyle pulled something from Alex’s bag. Makeup wipes. Under other circumstances, he’d probably be embarrassed but they were well past that stage now. Kyle took one of the wipes and reached out, towards Alex’s chest then he looked up, into his eyes, silently asking permission. Alex slowly nodded his head then he held his breath as Kyle gently used the wipe to remove the offensive word from his chest.  
Kyle’s touch wasn’t anything like Alex expected it to be. It was gentle and almost methodical, like he was determine to get it all, like wiping it away would change what had happened.

“Did they do this because you hate me?” Alex asked him.  
“No!” Kyle replied “I mean, maybe… But no because I don’t hate you, Alex”  
“You hate what I’ve become… Gay”  
“You didn’t ‘become’ gay, Alex… You were always… You”  
“Why are you such a jerk to me? Liz probably wouldn’t have dumped you if you weren’t such a jerk”  
“I guess it’s that jock pack mentality you mentioned earlier”

Alex closed his eyes; Kyle was still caressing his chest despite all traces of the eyeliner being long gone. If he wasn’t careful, his body was going to start reacting to his touch and that would be bad.

“Kyle” Alex started “you can stop now” He reached up, grabbed Kyle’s hand, opened his eyes and saw the way Kyle was looking at him.  
“Maybe I don’t want to” he whispered very softly.  
“Kyle-”

There was no warning at all, one minute they were staring at each other and the next, Kyle was kissing him. Alex froze in utter shock; his eyes wide open in surprise. His heart was pounding so hard he could barely breathe, barely think, barely move. When Kyle pulled back and looked at him, Alex could see the shock and fear in his eyes reflected back in his own.

“Kyle… What was that?” Alex struggled to ask.  
“I… Kissed you” Kyle replied.  
“Yeah, you did… Why?”  
“I don’t know”  
“I’ve never been kissed before”  
“By a guy you mean?”  
“No I mean like ever”  
“Well, you didn’t exactly kiss me back…”  
“I… I uh” Alex faltered. He didn’t know what to say.

“You‘re mad” Kyle started “angry”  
“No”  
“Because I’m not…”  
“You’re not what?”  
Alex’s heart was still pounding and his head was spinning. What the hell had just happened?  
“I’m not who you want to be kissing, am I?” Kyle asked him.

“Kyle, you’ve spent the last how many months, tormenting and teasing me and calling me every derogatory thing you can think of” Alex snapped “why would I want to kiss you? Why would you want to kiss me? It doesn’t make any sense!”  
“Why do you think I’ve been picking on you? Because you’re not afraid to be you... Everyone at school knows you’re gay even if you won’t say the word out loud yourself but you’ve accepted it… You let everyone think it… But Roswell’s a small town and the football star can’t tell anyone that he likes guys just as much as he likes girls”

Alex paused and let Kyle’s words sink in. Kyle had spent all this time taking his frustration at himself out on Alex because he couldn’t, wouldn’t, admit the truth.  
“Kyle-” he started.  
“I’m sorry, Alex” Kyle cut him off “I’m sorry for what happened to you today; I’m sorry for everything I put you through and I’m sorry if your first kiss wasn’t what or who you expected”  
“Why do you keep thinking I want someone else?”

“Alex, it’s written all over your face” Kyle appeared surprised that Alex was so blind to his own feelings.  
“What is?” Alex asked him.  
“How bad you’ve got it for Michael Guerin”  
“What?” his head was starting to hurt.  
“I saw the way the two of you were looking at each other at Prom” Kyle confessed.  
“Guerin’s not gay” Alex choked on these words; Kyle having touched a nerve.  
“Maybe he just hasn’t admitted it yet but there’s something in the way he looks at you”

Alex reached for his bag, eager for this conversation to be over. He snatched it up and got to his feet, Kyle’s jacket still around him. Kyle also got to his feet.  
“Let me drive you home” Kyle suggested. “And if you want to report this to the school or the police, I’ll back you up”  
He reached into his pocket and handed the disposable camera to Alex. “Here’s the proof to corroborate your story”  
Alex took the camera and immediately opened the back, exposing the film to sunlight and destroying the evidence.  
“I’m not going to report it” he said “and I promise, I won’t tell your secret to anyone either”  
Kyle nodded his head.

They started toward the path and made their way to Kyle’s car. Alex was confused when Kyle reached out and opened the passenger door for him. He wasn’t used to Kyle being nice to him. He removed Kyle’s jacket from his shoulders and handed it back to the jock. Their hands touched as Kyle took the jacket so Alex leaned in and kissed him. After a few brief seconds, Kyle pulled away and looked at Alex who was smiling at him.

“What was that for?” Kyle asked; looking around to make sure no one had seen them by the car.  
“You said I didn’t kiss you back before” Alex admitted “guess I wanted a do over”  
“I’m so sorry this happened, Alex”  
“I’m sorry you can’t be who you want to be”  
“And I‘m sorry you can’t be with who you want to be with”

Alex climbed into the car; Kyle closed the door behind him then made his way around to the driver’s side.  
“Thank you for saying you’re not going to report this” Kyle said to him.  
“It’s more than they deserve” Alex replied.  
“Don’t worry; I intend to give them hell for the next few weeks… months… until graduation anyway… And I promise not to call you any… awful things ever again”  
“Thanks… and Kyle?”  
“Yeah?”  
“I’m sorry Liz broke up with you… You’re a really good kisser”  
“She knows and she’s gonna miss it”  
“I’m sure she will”


End file.
